Chapter 8
Media Planning and Buying
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Learning Objectives
Learn about major decisions involved in
media planning.
Understand fundamental terms of media
planning.
Learn how to calculate media
measures.
Learn to use secondary data frequently
used in media planning.
2
Media Planning
“I know half the money I spend
On advertising is wasted, but I
Can never find out which half.”
(JW)
What is media planning?
--The process of designing a course of action that
shows how advertising time and space will be used to
contribute to the achievement of marketing objectives.
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Problems in Media Planning
Insufficient information
Inconsistent terminologies
Time pressures
Difficulty measuring effectiveness
Staging a Media Plan
A Media Plan is a Written Document that Summarizes the
Recommended Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics Pertinent to the
Placement of a Company’s Advertising Messages.
Background and
Situation Analysis
Discusses Media Options, Opportunities
and Target Audience.
Media Objectives &
Aperture Opportunities
Goal or Task that Media Can Accomplish
Based on Aperture Opportunities.
Strategy:
Selection of Media
Explains Why a Single Medium or Set of
Media is Appropriate.
Flow Chart Scheduling
& Budgeting
Media Buyers Convert Objectives and
Select, Negotiate, & Contract for Media
Space.
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Consumer Attitudes Toward Media
(abbreviated)
Authoritative
Influential
2%
3%
9%
5%
3%
11%
20%
81%
57%
9%
Television
Newspapers
Radio
Magazines
Don’t know
Changes in Percentage of
Network Commercial by Length
Other
100%
60
80%
30
60%
15
40%
20%
0%
1965
1975
1985
1987
1988
1990
1992
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Setting Media Objectives
The Basic Goals That Direct Media Strategy Typically Focus on:
Whom to Advertise To
Which Geographic Areas to Cover
When to Advertise
What the Duration of the Campaign Should Be
What the Size or Length of the Ad Should Be
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Specifying Media Objectives
1. What proportion of the target audience
should be exposed to our message
“Reach”
2. How often should the target audience be
exposed to our message?
“Frequency”
-- “Motivational frequency”
-- “Effective reach and frequency”
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Threshold
Frequency
a. S-shaped response curve
Response
Response
Advertising Response Curves
Frequency
b. Convex response curve
When high frequency is required
A new brand
A smaller, less known brand
A low level of brand loyalty
Relatively short purchase and use cycle
With less involved (motivated and
capable) target audiences
With a great deal of clutter to break
through (Joseph Ostrow at Y & R, JAR,
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1984)
Specifying Media Objectives
(cont’d)
3. How much total advertising is necessary to
achieve the reach and frequency objective?
“Weight” (GRPs/TRPs, Gross Impressions)
- FCB research: no awareness with <1000 GRPs
4. How to schedule the advertising
campaign?
“Scheduling” or “Continuity”
- Continuous scheduling
- Pulsing
- Fighting
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Three Methods of Media Scheduling
Continuity
Flighting
Pulsing
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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Specifying Media Objectives
(cont’d)
5. What is the least expensive way to
accomplish media objectives?
“Cost”: Absolute and relative costs
- CPM or CPP: Measures cost efficiency
6. Other considerations
-- Geographic coverage
-- Qualitative media environment
-- Recall research
* Confusing terms
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EXH 9-11
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How to Use Reach and Coverage
Use Reach
To express a whole number or percentage of
different people actually exposed only once to
a media vehicle to combination of vehicles.

Example: Television program X reaches 9 million
men aged 18-34 within a four-week period.

Example: Magazine Y has a reach of 25 percent of
men aged 18-34 with an average issue.
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How to Use Reach and Coverage
Use Coverage
To express the potential audience of a
broadcast medium or the actual audience of a
print medium exposed only once.

Example: A network television program may have
a coverage of 95 percent of TV homes in the U.S.

Example: Magazine Y has 25 percent coverage of
men aged 18-34. (Means same as reach.)
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Some Basic Terms Used in
Media Planning
•Gross impressions: the sum of the
audience of all media vehicles used
within a designated time period
–Jeopardy: 3,270,000 x 4 messages =13,080,000
–People: 8,620,000 x 2 messages = 17,240,000
–Time:
1,700,000 x 2 messages = 3,400,000
–---> 33,720,000 gross impressions
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Relative Cost: CPM
= Cost of ad space X 1,000 /number of readers
Number of readers: 4.0 MM
Newsweek
Per-page cost: $144,000
Number of readers: 3.1 MM
CPM: $156,000X1,000/
CPM: $144,000X1,000/
Time
Per-page cost: $156,000
4.0 MM
=$39.00
3.1 MM
=$46.45
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Relative Cost:CPRP
= Cost of ad time/Program rating
Drew Carey
Cost per spot ad:
$3,500
Survivor
Cost per spot ad:
$4,000
Rating: 11
Rating: 15
CPRP: $3,500/11
CPRP: $4,000/15
=$318.18
=$266.64
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Super Bowl Options
Scenario 1 ($891,000;
one 30-second spot on one primetime show each night of the week)
Scenario 2 ($895,000;
a 30-second prime-time
“roadblock” on Sunday and
Monday nights)
Monday: Murphy Brown (CBS)
Tuesday: Coach (ABC)
Wednesday: 48 Hours (CBS)
Thursday: Wings (NBC)
Friday: Picker Fences (CBS)
Saturday: The Commish (ABC)
Sunday: CBS Sunday Night Movie
Sunday: ABC Sunday Night Movie
CBS Sunday Night Movie
NBC Sunday Night Movie
Married …With Children (Fox)
Monday: Day One (ABC)
Dave’s World (CBS)
Blossom (NBC)
Fox Movie
Comparison with Super Bowl XXVШ
Rating point: +64%
Reach: +25%
Comparison with Super Bowl XXVШ
Ratings points: +48%
Reach: +6%
Source: N. W. Ayer (1994)
Notes: Ratings points/reach comparisons are based on adults 18-49. Reach is based on actual delivery of each
schedule from the week of November 15, 1993. Nielsen’s cumulative audience data were used for this analysis.
Costs were based on October Media Watch figures. A single Super Bowl commercial (30 seconds) cost $900,000
in 1994.
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Some basic terms used in media
planning (cont’d)
GRPs: the sum of the total exposure
potential of a series of media vehicles
as a % of the audience population
-- GRPs = Reach x Average frequency
TRPs: ….. As a % of the target
audience population
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U.S. Main Media Volume (in percentage), Analyzed by
Media Groups
Total
Newspaper
Magazine
Television
Radio
Outdoor
1978
100.0
43.5
14.0
30.8
10.1
1.6
1997
100.0
37.6
8.9
40.1
12.1
1.3
SOURCE: reprinted with permission from Advertising Age, various dates. Copyright Crain Communications Inc.,
1998.
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Using Electronic Media
Types of Television
Advertising
Network Advertising
Spot Advertising
Syndication
-Sponsorship
-Paticipation
-National and Local
- Off-network syndication v.
first-run syndication
-Straight cash v. barter system
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Using Electronic Media
Rating/Share/HUTS
CDI and BDI
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Rating 
Total HHs tuned to a program
Total HHs with TV set at home
100
Share 
Total HHs tuned to a program
Total HHs with TV set on
 100
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HUT =
Total HHs with TV set on
Total HHs with TV set at home
×100
Rating = Share ×HUT
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CDI and BDI
The Brand Development Index (BDI) helps
marketers factor the rate of product usage by
geographic area into the decision process.
BDI =
percentage of brand to total U.S. sales in the market
Percentage of total U.S. population in market
×100
The Category Development Index (CDI)
is computed in the same manner as the BDI, except it
uses information regarding the product category (as
opposed to the brand) in the numerator.
CDI =
Percentage of product category total sales in market
Percentage of total U.S. population in market
×100
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Using CDI and BDI to determine
market potential
CDI =
Percentage of product category sales in Utah/Idaho
Percentage of total U.S. population in Utah/Idaho
×100
2%

 100
1%
 200
BDI =
percentage of total brand sales in Utah/Idaho
Percentage of total U.S. population in Utah/Idaho
×100
1 .2 %

 100
1%
 120
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Using BDI and CDI Indexes
v
High BDI
Low BDI
High CDI
High market share
Good market potential
Low market share
Good market potential
Low CDI
High market share
Monitor for sales decline
Low market share
Poor market potential
High BDI and high CDI
This market usually represents good sales
potential for both the product category and the brand.
High BDI and low CDI
The category is not selling well, but the brand is;
probably a good market to advertise in but should be
monitored for declining sales.
Low BDI and high CDI
The product category shows high potential but the
brand is not doing well; the reasons should be
determined.
Low BDI and low CDI
Both the product category and the brand are doing
poorly; not likely to be a good place for advertising.
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Using Printing Media
Newspaper rate
-- SAUs (Standard Advertising Unites) in 1984
-- Flat rate v. open rate
-- Run-of-paper v. preferred position rate
-- Combination rate: several nps as a group
-- National advertisers pay much more for
newspaper space
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Using Print Media
Magazine circulation

Primary circulation (in-home readers):







Subscription + news stand (a single copy circul.)
A basis for rate structure
Secondary circulation (out-of-home readers)
Paid circulation v. controlled circulation
Guaranteed circulation v. verified circulation
ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations)
Total audience=readers per copy x circulation of
an average issue
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SMRB/MRI Reading
Base: Female Homemakers
Top Row: There are 86,474,000 female
homemakers in the U.S.
Column A: 77,418,000 female homemakers
use breakfast cereals.
Column B: All female homemakers using
breakfast cereals is equal to 100% (i.e., base).
Column C: 89.5% of the total female
homemakers use breakfast cereals .
77,418,000
100  89.5%
86,474,000
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Second Row: There are 3,925,000 female homemakers
who read the magazine, Money.
Column A: 3,448,000 readers of Money use breakfast
cereals.
Column B: 4.5% of all users of breakfast cereals read
Money.
3,448,000
77,418,000
100  4.5%
Column C: 87.8% of Money readers are users of breakfast
cereals
3,448,000
3,925,000
100  87.8%
Column D: Money readers are 2% less likely to use
breakfast cereals than all U.S. female homemakers
.
87.8
 100  98
89.5
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Review
Learn about major decisions involved in
media planning.
Understand fundamental terms of media
planning.
Learn how to calculate media
measures.
Learn to use secondary data frequently
used in media planning.
35